Birthday Cake Recommendation

Hi L.,

I have never used Ralph's bakery. Keeping in mind with the costs of celebrations, we started using Von's bakery. I have never had a bad or distasteful episode with their cakes. I am a mother of two grown children with 4 grandchildren not to mention my husband who is the biggest child of them all! In fact, I will be making a cake-run today for my husband's birthday on the 12th. My instructions were to go big, fun with lots of toys on the cake:) Good Luck! T.

Ralphs has great ICE CREAM CAKE (Carvel). My girls don't eat cake, but will eat the ice cream cake. I've tried BR(31flavors) and like Ralphs' better. Give it a try.

Ralphs has fabulous cakes, and they are pretty inexpensive. Costco is another route you could look at but Ralphs has more design options and I think they taste better.

Personally, the Costco cakes are not good ...they are pure sugar...(not that cakes should not be). I live in Porter Ranch and my sister bought a cake at the bakery "MY BAKERY" in San Fernando and delicious. So many compliments she received and wanting to know where to buy it. Fresh strawberries and the frosting was the not so sweet one...buttercreme I think. You can also fill it with bananas or do half and half.

I think it is worth the drive. Or call them and ask them if they recommend any bakery on your side of town. Porto's is good also...I have never tried Ralphs.

We are in West Hills and I have purchased cakes from Ralph's for many years for my kids birthday parties. The bakery is always friendly and reliable and the cakes are fine for kids. We like the sweet butter cream frosting (hey - it's a birthday!) and we ask them to put mini-chocolate chips in the frosting between the layers of cake. Also, the chocolate cake is a little more moist than the vanilla. Good luck!

I used the Ralph's in Encino for my girl's 1st Birthday and they make wonderful, yummy cakes!

I used Albertson's for my son's cake which came on recommendation from some other moms. It was very reasonably priced and at the party all of the parents where asking where I bought the cake from because they thought it was one of the best they'd ever had. They were surprised to hear it was from Albertson's bakery! I've done Costco before and they are great as well, but you don't get the cake decoration options you'll get at an actual bakery. They taste great and are cheap though!

Best of luck!

I had a bad experience with the Ralph's in Glendale - they forgot to make the cake! The cakes from Vons are great. They taste great, look great, and I've always had people ask where the cake comes from! We've used Porto's for specialty cakes, and they're very good but pricey. Happy birthday to your son!

Ralphs is the best for cakes! we used to buy exspensive
cakes for our kids parties and found that we like Ralphs
better! We use the on on Colwater and Ventura.

Have a fun party!

G.

Hi L.,

We just had my daughters 4th birthday party on 6/7 and we ordered our cake from ralphs. I have a "cake lady" we usually use who makes amazing cakes but she wanted 65 bucks for the same cake I got at ralphs for 35. It was really delicious. Everyone said the cake was really good. It was the first time I ordered a cake from the store and it didn't disappoint me. Good luck!

L.,
Ralph's and Von's have great bakery sections and the quality and taste are surprisingly good!! We usually buy my Daughter's birthday cake there. You may want to get a small cake .....just for "Show" (blowing out the candles/pictures, etc) and consider serving mini cupcakes to the guest(toddlers). It makes it easier and quicker to serve and the portions are more suited to their size. Also, then everyone get exactly the same!!!

Just a thought.
W.

Ralphs cakes are fine...I had a Vons cake a few weeks ago that was amazing! They used choclate fudge in the middle and on top! SUPER RICH and delish! Definitely go that route if you're into chocolate!!

I have been to many parties where they've used cakes from Ralph's and they are really good. Every time I taste, I"m always asking where they got it from and, it's usually, Ralph's. Hope this helps. (I am a baker and the Ralph's cakes compare very well.)

Costco cakes are huge, delish and $14

I buy the B-Day cakes only from Vons, it taste much better than Ralph's an they decorate it beautifully.
Well now you remind me that I need to go and buy B-Day cakes for next week!!!

Yuck to Ralph's I really do not care for their cake. Von's or Pavillons cake is more backery like and the frosting much better.

Hi L.! We used Ralphs on the recommendation of a friend and they are the BEST!! I said the same thing about not paying ridiculous prices for cake for toddlers. Ralphs was easy, they had tons of choices and the cakes are DELICIOUS. You can also get whipped cream frosting instead of butter cream icing which may help on the sugar rush...
Good Luck!!

Hi Laurie,

You can't beat Costco for excellent and inexpensive cakes. They are full sheet cakes with a varity of decorations if you pre-order and cost about $16. It's about 1/2 the price for twice as much as other stores' bakery cakes and taste better too.

Their bakery is great actually... If you have a costco nearby their prices are even cheaper!

Ralphs has the best cakes! I have a 15 year old and an 11 year old. It is the only place my kids want their cakes to come from and the adults always ask where did you buy the cake.
I will only buy birthday cakes from Ralphs. There is no need to spend extra money on birthday cakes.

Other than baking cup cakes, which I see you're not interested in, I always go to Costco for my cakes. They are cheap (about $15) serve approximately 48, are super yummy and have some cute simple designs. For some people, that's way too much, but I'm thinking in terms of servings kids, parents and maybe having enough left over to have everyone take some home too! Good luck to you.

I've tried Ralphs and it's pretty good. We use Pavillions and they are AMAZING. The chocolate with fresh strawberries and cream is really good. And they are not expensive at all. I think we got 1/2 sheet for $35 which feeds ALOT. Hope you have one close by...and happy Bday

Ralphs and Costco cakes are great. No complaints. A great way to save money and get your kids exactly who/what they want on the cake is to buy a simple cake and then at the party store, buy all the decorations with the characters they like and just stick them into the cake. I also like to print out photos and happy bday signs on the computer and stick them on straws and put them in the cake. I'm handy with Photoshop so these are a big hit. Be creative and spend the time on your kids and they'll appreciate it as they get older.

Hello,

Ralphs is good but Albertson is apeanut free environment and the price is right. You get to chose the kind of fillings and decos and frostings that you want. It is really cheap. Good Luck.

If you are a member of Costco, they make a great cake for $15. It is the same size as the one at Ralph's and they have a number of options for the designs!

I think I saw that Costco now offers cupcakes. We got one of the cupcake cakes from Ralphs for my daughter's 3rd birthday in April. Everyone enjoyed it and thought it looked super cute with Elmo on top.

I know you said you don't want to bake, but I've had success with Trader Joe's vanilla cake mix and made my own frosting--cream cheese, totally easy--as we have friends with allergies to artificial flavorings and colorings.I am in no way a baker, but even I couldn't screw these up and it really didn't take very long.

Ralphs makes the best cakes! I get all my cakes from them! Bring in a picture and they can transfer it onto the cake! They are cheap too!

I've never tried Ralph's cakes, but I will agree that Costco has great-tasting cakes. I think they need 48 hours if you special order one and I believe it's $15.00 for a 1/4 sheet cake.

I've had great luck with Ralph's. Chocolate cake, pudding in the middle and whipped cream frosting. Yum! One year I gave them a picture of my son and they put his image on the cake. Happy Birthday!!!

Ralphs makes great cakes--we are picking one up today for my middle son's 6th birthday! Costco is also good but their options for decorations are limited (not a concern for you now, but maybe for future birthdays when your son will want to pick). Also, we found out from the parents of a friend of our son's that you can get nut-free cakes from Ralphs, which is helpful if any of your guests have nut allergies. I don't know if this is possible at Costco.

COSTCO! The best cake for the price and you can choose what kind of cake and filling you want. Or you can just run in and grab a cake they have pre-made. If you do not have a membership, you can get a day pass.

Ralphs bakery is very good. They can even do cupcakes to look like a large cake. I don't think a toddler will come up to you and say "eew, is that from Ralphs!?" Also, Costco has really good cakes too.
M.

Go with Vons! Anything from Ralph's bakery tastes cheap...like it came from a grocery store!

Ralph's cakes are ok, but have you tried Costco's cakes? They will decorate and write Happy Birthday and a name for free on a cake while you wait. These cakes always are eaten to the last piece. I recall the Ralph's cake's frostings as being sugary sweet, thus not too many people ate the cake. Costco's frosting is buttery and delicious. The carrot cake is especially moist and delectable. Have fun. I miss having parties as our children are grown and gone! I'm only 63 and still wishing I could be pregnant again and have my own babies over again. Enjoy!

We get tons of compliments when we use Von's bakery - we often go to Porto's, too, but we seem to recieve more compliments for the regular layer cakes from Vons - and yes, we've tried Ralphs - also good, but Vons is the best!
Have fun!!

Hello there...
If you can get into Sam's Club they have really good cakes for about $20.00 and they will even put pictures on them. Also Costco is good and the price is right. Ralphs has a good bakery, my late husband used to work there but a little pricier.
Have a great party!
K.